Two ways to ensure your renovation project goes as smoothly as possible

About Me

Thanks for checking out my blog! My name's Olivia, and I'll be sharing my advice about construction and contractors here. When my husband and I first decided to move in together, we didn't fall in love with any of the homes on the market so we decided to build our own. We learned a lot about construction and contractors during that time, but our journey wasn't over yet. Over the years, we've had multiple changes made to our custom home, including extensions to accommodate new babies, adaptations for in-laws moving in and even an outbuilding studio for my son's music production endeavours. As you can imagine, I've had to do a lot of research on home building over the years, and now I'd love to pass that advice on to anyone else who needs it. Look around—I'm sure you'll find something useful.

Home renovations are rarely, if ever, simple and straightforward. However, there are steps which you can take to reduce the likelihood of things going awry during your renovation project. Read on to find out what these steps are:

Take care of your construction materials

If the construction materials for your renovation are damaged or stolen, both the length and the cost of the project will rise, as you will, of course, have to replace these items and wait at least a few days (if not weeks) for the new materials to arrive.

Given this, it makes sense to take extra precautions when it comes to storing your construction materials. Any items that might be affected by moisture (such as timber, which can warp and rot when it gets too wet, or structural steel, which can corrode when exposed to moisture and oxygen) should be stored indoors, in a dry, well-ventilated area that is not likely to become humid if the weather gets warmer.

Valuable construction equipment (such as high-end power tools) should never be left anywhere in the property which can be seen through the window by passersby, as opportunistic thieves who spot this equipment may be tempted to break in and steal it. Ideally, goods of this kind should be placed in a lockable cupboard at the end of each work day. Do not leave expensive construction materials in the garage, as this is often the least secure area of a house.

Implement strict safety measures

If your contractor, labourers or sub-contractors are injured during the course of their work, this could wreak havoc on your project. If the injury requires a significant amount of recovery time, you may need to seek out new tradespeople to replace those who have been hurt.

As such, for the sake of both your renovation team and your project, you should implement strict safety measures and insist that your crew adhere to them throughout the course of the construction process.

For example, you should ask your construction crew to maintain a tidy work environment (this might include clearing up any nails, plaster scraps, cables and leftover timber from the floor). This will reduce the likelihood of people tripping over items and subsequently suffering a sprain or a fracture, or stepping on a sharp object and sustaining a wound to their foot.

Additionally, you should make sure that those performing dust-producing work (such as drilling, sawing, or breaking through a wall) wear the necessary safety gear (i.e. safety goggles, as well as dust masks or respirators) so that they are not exposed to potentially toxic materials that could damage their lungs or irritate their eyes.